Recently we were given the opportunity to watch the travel drama “Satu – Year of the Rabbit.” it’s a refreshing and fantastic tale about two people looking for a purpose in a foreign country. All the while director Joshua Triggs frames Laos with a loving lens that turns its in to its own character. While we’ve seen plenty of movies like this in the past, “Satu” offers a distinct and unique flavor that won us over.
Thanks for your time!
My Pleasure!
For our readers, please introduce yourself.
My name is Joshua Trigg I’m a film maker from London, UK. I like pugs and long walks on the beach.
Where did you get your inspiration for “Satu – Year of the Rabbit”?
Falling in love with Laos on the back end of a charity documentary for Toyota, myself, my DoP James Chegwyn and Emanuele Costantini my sound guru explored the country over about ten days in 2019. We also became great friends with the local crew, who, happened to be as in love with narrative fiction as we were. Lee Phonsavanh my producer out there worked side by side with me for 5 years to realize Satu and as you can imagine the people and the country became the main inspiration for the film, I feel that this comes across in the piece.
I have also been making films in SE Asia commercially for over 10 years. Themes I had been exploring back home and true stories of people in Laos and similar communities kind of collided in my head, I realized so many human stories are just versions of each other. It’s amazing that you can find your doppelgänger halfway across the word and that in itself was part of my drive. I decided I wanted to make a Laos film for Laos people.
What inspired your penning of “Satu – Yea of the Rabbit”?
Satu was a moving beast for quite some time. I spent my childhood writing and realised in my early 20s much of what I was exploring was to do with my own relationship with my non-existent father and struggling single mother. Satu was the 2nd feature film I wrote dealing with themes of abandonment, loss and friendship. At the same time, I just fell so deeply in love with the visuals of rural Laos, in particular the little red temple in Pha Tang village past VangVien. I remember when we walked into that place for the first time. My jaw hit the floor and I knew I had to make a film set there.
How long did “Satu” take to film? And where primarily did you film it?
Satu had 26 days shooting over 2 months. We had 8 days quarantine or there about at the beginning as we shot during lock down in Laos, SE Asia. We had our refurbished Eaton breakdown 10 days into shooting so that held us back a few days. Somehow we only ended 1/2 days over (as that’s all we could afford). We had to have a replacement camera sent up from Bangkok. As the country was completely locked down this made such situations pretty damn hard to navigate. There was a lot of ‘persuading’ and ‘workarounds’ to make this film possible.
There was only 1 flight into the country every 2 months. And 1 flight out every month so everything was hanging from a shoestring. In a way this film really shouldn’t exist especially considering we shot it on 16mm. But hey, no risk no reward! We filmed from Vientiane to Muang Ngoy and everywhere in between! Muang Ngoy was only accessible by boat. I remember balancing a fridge full of film on top of a canoe. Which held all of our exposed dailies in it. You can imagine the words I was saying inside.
Did you draw on any films or media for inspiration while making “Satu”?
Satu really just came from my head so I think it’s likely that everything I’ve ever watched or enjoyed had some effect on its result. There is only 1 direct visual reference in there and it’s a hard one to spot. I was obsessed by The Great Escape as a kid. That scene when Steve McQueen is jumping over the mounds on his motorcycle ad the end of the film and trying to evade the Axis. There’s this one shot where it goes from a wide and plus focus as he comes up real tight into frame on his bike and he’s all concerned, with a like ‘I’ve fucked it’ kind of a reaction. I love that shot.
Were there any particular preparations by the cast for the shoot of “Satu”?
Lots of rehearsing on their side. But I do have a tendency to kind of rip stuff up and start again on the spot. The reality is due to budget restrictions a lot of rehearsing was remote. So I knew in the moment we would have to rework a lot of stuff. Difficult in another language of course but It’s important for me to get the most natural performances possible. Making the cast feel comfortable and in the moment is key. I think you have to know when to change things up to make people feel like they are in the moment or feel confident enough to perform well. It’s a balance based on each person character and personalty. I am so proud of Itthiphone (Satu) and Vanthiva (Bo) their commitment and inspirational playfulness allowed us to be in the moment and just enjoy playing the characters out in a natural manner. I really just wanted them to be themselves. Because they are great.
Who or what inspired your love for the art of filmmaking?
I think it really stemmed from an abusive upbringing. I would hide inside the making of my own films. Stop motion animations and ‘army films’ on a VHS handicams with my friends. We would cut to edit straight onto the tape. I mean that’s the point of creation of the obsession. Inspirations through out time have come from so many places after that. Early years I would say, Films like The Great Escape, Bridge over the River Kwai, Saving Private Ryan, even Jurassic Park and Back to the Future. Later on as any good film student I had my time falling in love with French cinema, Goddard etc. All along Hitchcock has continued to inspire me with what can be done with little character establishing but situational tension. Which I still have so much to learn from. These days I would say, Jim Jarmusch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Werner Herzog and Michael Haneka.
I do also have a deep obsession with Korean cinema ever since Old Boy came out. I would say in all honesty that is my favourite film.
Are You Working in any other genres or have aspirations to?
Oh yeah for sure! I think it’s so hard to give birth to your first film. Once you’ve done that the world is your oyster. Or at least should be! I love thrillers and all genres. I plan to make films in any genre I fancy really, I’m also a fan of revenge films. I think in reality I wanted to start with something simple and heartfelt. I wanted to exercise these muscles first. I do think that if you can lure an audience into a false sense of security you have a lot more power to surprise or affect the audience emotionally. I’m curious to explore this in other genres.
What would you like your legacy to be in the film medium (or elsewhere)?
It’s funny, you spend your lifetime getting to the point of getting a first feature made. And in many ways it’s like a first album. Rough around the edges with some kind of promising element of what’s to come. Or at least I hope that’s how people perceive it. My life’s ambition is to make feature films, like many. Legacy wise: One, I would like to be known for being a nice person to work with, that’s really important to me and two, I would say, just to be someone who stays true to themselves creatively. I only want to make stuff that sounds fun to make you know.
What do you hope people take away from your film?
I hope they want to go to Laos and spend all their money! Beautiful people and country. GO!
Who are some of the directors or writers that you look up to and who do you want to bring attention to in your field or others?
Park Chan-Wook, Paul Thomas Anderson, Werner Herzog. The list goes on. I tend to be highly inspired by regular people and their stories. I have a shelf full of real stories that I want to make one day. Or at least turn into short stories. Regular people are the unsung heroes and they inspire me deeply. From female Kurdish Peshmerga in Iraq to Norwegian Detectives, I’ve collated a lot of these stories from my travels over the years and hope to get some of their stories told!
What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
My 2nd feature is underway. We are still in the funding stage but are making great headway. I think by the time Satu is out on VOD etc. We should be in full swing. But I can tell you it’s a Romantic-Thriller called ‘Death of a Firefly’ it’s about a hotel bell boy and sex worker that fall in love both operating under a local criminal organisation. Star crossed lovers and all that. I won’t tell you where it’s set yet but it will be sweaty and set in neon fueled back alleys and more of a grungy city scape night time thriller feel.
What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or creators?
When you do finally get on the train tracks, don’t let anyone pull you off.